take note of the baits and rigs used

http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=32342

Freshly caught kahawai works as treat.

Standard baits would be pilchards, with a skipjack for a little vaiety. Squid are good especially if you are looking for things other than snapper as well...for example tarakihi will take squid, but only reluctantly take pillies etc, same goes for porae, another fine, and fairly common, table fish.
If you want ot use really fresh bait, always a good option, if you land a kahawai, use that...either as a livie if small enough (say30cm or less, in which case you will pick up kingfish and the odd big moocher snapper, or as fresh cut baits. Here is a hint though, if using as a cut bait, scale the fillet first, makes it a lot more supple and easy to get onto the hook. Personally, with fresh kahawai, I skin the kahawai, as really fresh kahawai is actually pretty firm flesh anyhow, sticks on the hook pretty well without the skin, especially if you sew it on (like you do with pillies) and the added attraction of having 2 sides of bait exposed to the water to spread scent seems to make it an even more attractive bait. I prefer fresh, skinned kahawai to any other bait these days.
If you are jigging for kings or whatever, and pick up a barracouta (snoek to you I tihnk), then these are also pretty good baits, snapper are happy to munch on it and it makes great slab baits for deep fishing for hapuku etc.
Other frozen baits... mullet, trevally, sanma etc all have their times and places, but the basics of pillies and a skippy, with a fresh kahawai if you pick one up, should see you right pretty much anywhere.
hope this helps,
Cheers,
Stu.

For snapper ..... Baby Salmon :D

Just gotta have my 2 cents worth. Squid like u buy at the garage, in packets, I think because it is so white, and salted Kawhai,heard everyone say fresh Kawhai but never seems to work for me. My grandson worked on a fishing boat for a while and he reckoned Barracuda that had been left out in the sun for a while as it got a bit of a glow on. So long as there is bait in the water and coffee in the hand you are on.

or u could try a flasher with some squid or mullet seems to be working for me at the mo

Gid!!  If I were you I, would get a bag of pillies, a bag of squid, and a couple of mullet each time you go out for the first half dozen times... cut your teeth on that, and experiment with macks and kahawai as you go...you will catch them on the day, so you can use them fresh..  Jim

PS  Everything likes blue cod.  Westcoast saying.